>Mailing-List: contact newsletter-help@???; run by ezmlm >Reply-To: news@???
>List-Subscribe: <mailto:newsletter-subscribe@news.peacefultomorrows.org>
>List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:newsletter-unsubscribe@news.peacefultomorrows.org>
>From: Peaceful Tomorrrows News <news@???>
>To: news@???
>Delivered-To: mailing list newsletter@???
>Delivered-To: moderator for newsletter@???
>X-Sent: 10 Sep 2003 12:48:28 GMT
>Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 08:48:23 -0400
>Subject: 9/11 anniversary statement
>
>September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
>
>Statement on the second anniversary of 9/11
>
>http://www.peacefultomorrows.org/voices/voices.php?id=P211 >
>Two years ago today our loved ones were tragically murdered in an act of
>terror that shook the United States and the world. In the time since their
>deaths, as we continue our personal paths of grieving, we are comforted by
>the thoughtful and compassionate response of people all over the world who
>have offered sympathy and support to the victims of these terrible attacks.
>But much about the US government¹s approach to responding to our loved ones¹
>deaths stands in stark contrast to the common sense words and comforting
>actions of ordinary people. On this two-year anniversary, we stop to reflect
>on the dangerous course of current policies and to call for a new approach
>to 9/11 that is focused on bringing about true security and justice.
>
>Our loved ones' deaths prompted the US government to attack Afghanistan and
>overthrow the repressive Taliban government with the objective of catching
>Osama Bin Laden and other members of Al Queda thought to be responsible for
>the attack. While military efforts to overthrow the Taliban were initially
>successful, Bin Laden is still unaccounted for, and recent reports indicate
>that the Taliban and Al Queda are resurging in Afghanistan even as the
>central government pleads for more funds for stabilization and rebuilding.
>Our military campaign in Afghanistan did one thing for certain: it created
>more bereaved families just like ours. Ordinary Afghans were killed by US
>bombs, injured by cluster bombs, and displaced by fighting, adding to the
>suffering of 23 previous years of wars. On our travels to Afghanistan we
>have met some of these families and hold them in our hearts today as another
>set of victims created by the tragedy of 9/11.
>
>Shortly after 9/11/01, the US congress passed the USA Patriot act,
>ostensibly to improve security in the United States, with little time for
>examination of its consequences. In this climate of fear and panic, the
>Patriot Act and other measures have eroded basic American civil liberties
>and threatened our immigrant populations in particular. Today, unnamed
>people languish in unidentified locations on unknown charges under the guise
>of American justice. Yet there is no evidence that these measures have made
>us any safer. At the same time, the administration stalls on efforts to
>provide an open and honest investigation of the events of 9/11.
>
>Last year at this time, President Bush used the occasion of the one year
>commemoration of our loved ones' deaths to begin a marketing campaign to
>sell the war against Iraq. Despite the lack of a link between Saddam Hussein
>and the events of 9/11, the Bush Administration's insinuations of a
>connection played upon the public¹s fears of 9/11 and led the country into
>an unnecessary war in Iraq, invoking our loved ones' deaths as
>justification. While the deceptions behind the stated reasons for going to
>war are coming to light, ordinary Iraqis and US soldiers in Iraq continue to
>suffer, with the death toll mounting every day. Today we pause to mourn the
>Iraqi dead and all the casualties of the war, and to call upon our leaders
>to bring our troops, who have put their lives on the line, safely home from
>this misguided mission and to turn control of Iraq¹s rebuilding to the
>authority of the United Nations.
>
>One of our members wrote to the New York Times on Sept 14, 2001 "I pray that
>this country which has been so deeply hurt not unleash forces that it does
>not have the power to call back." Have we unleashed these terrible forces?
>After 9/11 America had the sympathy of the entire world. Since war with
>Iraq, international sympathy and support has turned to hatred and despair.
>Anti-American sentiment is on the rise all around the worldwhat better
>recruiting tool for terrorist can we provide?
>
>As grieving family members, we know that feelings of fear and anger are a
>natural part of the healing process. But we have learned that it is not
>healthy or constructive to act on these emotions. The government¹s response
>to 9/11 has kept us stuck in the fear and panic that we all shared from the
>shocking events of 9/11. Rather than basing our policies on fear and anger,
>we call upon the government to act in the best interest of the American
>public by rejoining the community of nations to work together constructively
>in solving the issues of worldwide terrorism and war.
>
>While September 11 stands as a unique tragedy in the American experience,
>the sad reality is that people in other countries have been experiencing
>their own September 11ths with much less fanfare all the time. Peaceful
>Tomorrows members have met with other victims of violence around the world
>who are a guiding light in our efforts to put our grief to work as action
>for peace. From Israeli and Palestinian parents who lost children to
>violence, to victims of the US Embassy bombing in Kenya to the mothers of
>the disappeared in Central and South America to the survivors of the
>ultimate violencethe atomic weapons dropped by the US on Hiroshima and
>Nagasaki, Peaceful Tomorrows members have found ourselves to be part of a
>worldwide family of those who have known terror and who have responded with
>peace. September 11 taught us that human beings have the capacity to commit
>terrible violence against each other. But it also taught us that the human
>heart is capable of overcoming fear and hatred to build a world in which
>there are no more September 11ths anywhere in the world. It is this hope is
>that we must build upon as individuals and as nations.
>
>On February 15, 2003 a great worldwide shift was made apparentso obvious in
>fact that the New York Times reported it on the front page. The millions of
>people in the streets around the world marching against war in Iraq
>demonstrated that there are now two superpowers in the world: the Bush
>Administration and global public opinion. We are honored to stand with our
>brothers and sisters around the world who know that we the people must find
>another way to live together on this planet.
>
>So today as we mourn, reflect and remember, we ask that you join with us in
>pursuit of true peace, security, and justice. We owe it to the dead, we need
>it for the living and we must do it for the generations to follow. Let us
>move forward together to build a future of peaceful tomorrows.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list send a message to:
>newsletter-unsubscribe@???
>
>To SUBSCRIBE from this list send a message to:
>newsletter-subscribe@???
>
>The owner of this list can be reached at
>newsletter-owner@???
